Biography

King County Councilmember Larry Gossett is serving his seventh term on the Metropolitan King County Council. In 2014, he will serve on the following committees:

Committee of the Whole

Law, Justice, Health and Human Services, Member

Regional Policy Committee, Member

King County Ferry District Board of Supervisors

Flood Control District Board of Supervisors

Born and raised in Seattle, Larry Gossett has been a dedicated servant of the people for over 45 years. Gossett’s Council district represents an area where he has lived and worked on issues his entire life.

After graduating from Franklin High School, and after two years at the University of Washington, he became a VISTA volunteer in Harlem (1966-1967) and worked with poor youth and families. Following his service obligation to VISTA, he returned to University of Washington where he was one of the original founders of the Black Student Union (BSU). As a respected student activist, he fought to eliminate racial discrimination and increase the enrollment of African Americans and other students of color at the University. After graduation, he became the first supervisor of the Black Student Division, in the Office of Minority Affairs.

In the summer of 2008 the University of Washington Alumni Association gave him the esteemed honor of being selected as one of the “Wonderous 100,” that is, as one of the most influential U.W. graduates over the past 100 years.

From April 1979 until December 1993, he was the Executive Director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), one of the oldest and largest community action agencies in the City of Seattle.

In 1993, Councilmember Gossett was elected to the King County Council, representing District Two (formerly District Ten), which encompasses many Seattle neighborhoods and unincorporated King County in the Skyway neighborhood.

Councilmember Gossett is a highly respected community leader who has long advocated for the underrepresented and underprivileged in King County for his entire career. He has long been an advocate for programs that help inner-city youth and reduce racial and class disparities in our local criminal justice system. He has also spearheaded efforts to eliminate black-on-black violence and other manifestations of self-hatred by poor and disenfranchised populations.

Councilmember Gossett has traveled around the world in various community and political capacities. As a community activist, he has traveled to Japan, Canada, Russia, and Nicaragua. He has represented the King County Council on various trade missions to many countries in Asia (India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and South Korea), several countries in South America and South Africa, and most recently, Kent County in England.

Councilmember Gossett is a dynamic speaker, prolific writer, administrator and political activist. He has the ability to motivate and inspire people of all races and walks of life. He is dedicated to the cause of equal rights and economic freedom for all people.

He is married with three adult children and three beloved grandchildren.